Social media may feel like a default setting of modern life since it is omnipresent, ambient, and almost invisible (at times) in its influence.

But behind that ubiquity is a surprisingly fragile and fast-moving infrastructure which includes a constellation of platforms that rose, fell, and morphed (or died) over the last four decades. These platforms reshaped the architecture of identity, rewired how we consume information, and redefined economic participation through the rise of the creator economy rather than simply digitizing our social interactions.

Now we find ourselves at another inflection point. The agenticOS is beginning to have a component of its operating system inhabiting these networks, being far more than just tools, as they will be/already are entities acting on our behalf (right now with significant human-in-the-loop requirements).

To understand where we’re headed, we need to first look back. This newsletter thus begins with a two-part foundation: first, a timeline of social media’s evolution from early proto-networks to today’s algorithm-driven platforms (Section 1.1); second, an exploration of the societal ripple effects, ranging from mental health and identity curation to polarization and surveillance capitalism (Section 1.2).

Section 2 examines how AI agents are already transforming LinkedIn, X, and Instagram by automating hiring, outreach, content, and ads. Section 3 brings up the objective statistics, showing how AI adoption is boosting performance across platforms, from engagement to ROI. Finally, Section 4 peers into the future with SyncNet: a hypothetical presence-based social layer where identity is modular, content is co-created, and agents manage real-time reputation. It’s a radical shift, but it feels like it’s already on the horizon.

Together, these four sections trace how social media evolved, how AI is remaking it now, and what comes next as agents begin to inhabit the networks we once merely used. Enjoy!

Social media’s influence is now deeply embedded across public, private, and professional life; however, it is important to understand that this ubiquity emerged through decades of rapid platform innovation, decline, and reinvention (or death). In Section 1.1, we’ll trace the timeline from early proto-networks like Usenet and GeoCities to today’s complex ecosystem of business-focused, visual, and decentralized social platforms. Section 1.2 then explores the societal consequences of this transformation, including the reshaping of identity, labor, and information flow. Together, these sections form the foundation for understanding how AI agents and the agenticOS may further reshape the domain of social media.

We’ve just walked through the long arc of social media, from early digital tribes to global platforms, and the societal disruptions that came with them. But what’s happening right now?

In this section, we turn from history to real-time applications, spotlighting how AI agents are actively transforming social platforms into semi-autonomous ecosystems. These three subsections unpack the major battlegrounds: LinkedIn, where agentic tools are reshaping professional outreach and hiring; X, where narrative engineering and ad automation are colliding in Musk’s AI-first rebrand; and Instagram, where content personalization has morphed into agent-driven co-creation. We also tackle ethical considerations for each individual platform.

Across each, the agenticOS is becoming embedded itself into workflows, feeds, and strategy, making these social media tools that much easier to connect with potential clients. What emerges is a glimpse into the social media platforms where our agents operate on our behalf rather than simply as tools we use.

For MUCH MORE on the general regulatory landscape of AI/AI Agents/the agenticOS in the U.S. and the EU, check out our last newsletter here.

Final Thoughts:

As we’ve seen, social media didn’t arrive fully formed; rather, it evolved through decades of experimentation, from BBS boards and GeoCities to TikTok and Farcaster.

Section 1 mapped that arc, then unpacked its sweeping societal impact where identities became curated, labor digitized, information weaponized, and surveillance normalized. In Section 2, we brought the conversation into the present, arguing that the agenticOS represents a fundamental shift, not just simply a new tool. It’s a reimagining of how platforms like LinkedIn, X, and Instagram operate, and more importantly, how we show up within them. Rather than enhancing our experience at the surface level, the agenticOS challenges the very architecture of presence, performance, and participation on these platforms. Section 3 quantified this shift, revealing clear boosts in engagement, efficiency, and revenue as AI moves from augmentation to optimization.

Finally, in Section 4, we imagined a world shaped by SyncNet, which is a speculative next-generation layer where social interaction is no longer based on posts but on presence. In this paradigm, a user’s life, with their absolute consent, is streamed into others' feeds autonomously. SyncNet is a concept I, Ross Green, introduced to explore a future where intelligent agents negotiate identity and reputation on our behalf, in real time.

Together, these sections sketch a system in flux. Social media soon will be/already has been an environment where the agenticOS represent us and increasingly acts for us rather than simply just connecting us (as mentioned in Section 4, finding online connections is so 2000s with The Facebook). That raises hard questions about authenticity, control, and agency. But it also opens up extraordinary new possibilities.

We’re building the future of social media, agent by agent via the agenticOS, and feed by feed in social media, rather than just watching the next chapter unfold. The age of the scroll is giving way to the age of synchronization.

Let’s see what happens next!